Izzy, wizzy, let’s get busy! Oldest known Sooty puppets for sale on Gumtree – for £5,000

The Sooty Show followed the adventures of Sooty the wand-wielding bear, his dim-witted canine friend Sweep and calm and collected panda Soo (Picture: Gumtree)

The oldest known collection of Sooty puppets is up for sale on Gumtree – for £5,000.

The puppets originally belonged to and are signed by Sooty creator Harry Corbett and include Sooty the bear, Sweep the dog and Soo the panda from the original Sooty Show, which follows the animals in their many mischievous adventures.

While the origins of the Sweep and Soo toys are unknown, the Sooty toy was given by Corbett to receptionist Violet Marley at the BBC Television Centre in 1962, and then passed on to Marley’s niece Sally Keene, with whom Sooty lived for 39 years – including time as an ex-pat in Spain.

It appears the iconic wand-wielding yellow bear last changed hands in 2008, when puppeteer Richard Cadell took over from Harry Corbett’s son Matthew on the show and decided to purchase Sooty for £3,100.

‘He may not be the absolute original, but we’re pretty sure he’s the oldest surviving Sooty in the world and the first to appear on TV,’ he told the MailOnline at the time.

‘Harry gave away scores of Sootys through the years, but they were usually the stage-show versions, which wore out very quickly.’